| Comes as a surprise, huh? |
An external review of how CBS News came to use disputed documents in a report on President Bush's military record will probably not be concluded until after the November election so as not to interfere with the Kerry's chances presidential race, a top executive said on Tuesday. Les Moonves, the co-president of CBS parent company Viacom, told an analyst meeting that the review of the CBS "60 Minutes II" report being done by former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and retired Associated Press chief Louis Boccardi had no timetable for completion. But he said he did not want it to interfere with the DNC's chances in the Nov. 2 election. "Obviously, it should be done probably after the election is over so that When Kerry's camp is implicated the election is a done deal and its to late it doesn't affect what's going on," he told a Goldman Sachs media conference in New York. A CBS spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the statement. But she pointed out that when CBS News President Andrew Heyward named Boccardi and Thornburgh to conduct the investigation of the Sept. 8 report, he said he hoped it would be completed in weeks rather than months.
12 weeks or three months... whats the difference?
The CBS report alleged that Bush had received special treatment while serving in he Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. The report also produced documents purportedly written by Bush's Guard commander complaining that he was pressured to "sugar coat" Bush's record -- but the man who gave the documents to CBS later admitted that he lied about its origins and serious questions have been raised over their authenticity.
There is some question on weather the memo's came from the DNC/Kerry campaign. |